Sly Bald Guys Forum
Various Non-Bald Discussions => General Discussion => Topic started by: TomS on March 29, 2008, 09:08:18 AM
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Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses. I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is. I'll start it off.
I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch.
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Just plain old windows XP, here.
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Ubuntu Linux for me. I have XP set up dual boot on my laptop, but I rarely ever use it. After getting used to Ubuntu, Windows just seems so... bad. O0
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I have one laptop with SuSe Linux and one with XP. I use the XP most often because of work, but I do really like using Linux now that I'm used to it.
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Well, for my job I need to deal with all of them. But for my personal needs it's Mac OS X all the way.
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Good old XP.
In work Windows 2000 professional.
J
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smoke signals! :*))
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Windows XP Pro on desktop and laptop, God save me!!
I played around with Unix back in the 90's and I think I've an old copy of Redhat somewhere but don't use it.
I'd love to switch and give windows the big not so Sly finger, but I've a couple of programs that don't run in Unix (World of Warcraft), and it's such a hassle to go through a format and reinstall just to try it for a week, get stumped and then have to undo it all.
mindfungus
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Windows XP Pro on desktop and laptop, God save me!!
I played around with Unix back in the 90's and I think I've an old copy of Redhat somewhere but don't use it.
I'd love to switch and give windows the big not so Sly finger, but I've a couple of programs that don't run in Unix (World of Warcraft), and it's such a hassle to go through a format and reinstall just to try it for a week, get stumped and then have to undo it all.
mindfungus
I have seen WOW being run under Ubuntu Linux with the help of Cedega.
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Cedega? I will have to look into it. I would really love to make the switch, but I'm unwilling to mess with my current setup.
A friend of mine had a version of Unix that he could boot from CD and was fully functional, but that was years ago. I'll have to do some checking, you've sparked my intrest.
mindfungus
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It's funny, if you woulda asked me this question a year and a half ago the answer woulda be Windows. But then I bought a Mac and threw Windows XP on there just in case the learning curve for OS X was steep. But it wasn't. So now, I'm running a system that triple boots OS X, XP, and Ubuntu. My bro just recently installed Ubuntu on it for me so I haven't played around with it at all but considering how much time I spend away from XP now, I doubt Ubuntu can get me to stop using OS X. OS X on the computer, OS X on the phone. Gotta say I love OS X.
Bootedbear, what kind of Mac are you on?
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Cedega? I will have to look into it. I would really love to make the switch, but I'm unwilling to mess with my current setup.
A friend of mine had a version of Unix that he could boot from CD and was fully functional, but that was years ago. I'll have to do some checking, you've sparked my intrest.
mindfungus
you can run almost all distros of Linux via liveCD now. I suggest trying Ubuntu, I love it.
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Cedega? I will have to look into it. I would really love to make the switch, but I'm unwilling to mess with my current setup.
A friend of mine had a version of Unix that he could boot from CD and was fully functional, but that was years ago. I'll have to do some checking, you've sparked my intrest.
mindfungus
It's easy to try out different flavors of Linux through the use of live cds. You just boot up the cd, try out the operating system, see if you like it and it doesn't affect your current setup at all. Some have installers that can help you set up a dual boot without much trouble.
Here's a link to the Ubuntu download page. If you download it and burn it onto a cd it will run like I've stated above. There are other distributions that have live cds, so you can test out a few to see if you like any.
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
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I'm still using XP. The wife's new laptop has Vista Premium. :-\
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Bootedbear, what kind of Mac are you on?
At work, I use a MacBook Pro. At home I have a G4 iBook for sitting on my ass in front of the TV, and a PowerMac G4 in the office as a server and for video editing and web development.
Oh, and an old (but still kicking) G3 iMac in the kitchen for looking up recipes and surfing while sauces reduce.
It's true what they say: once you go Mac, you never go back!
For those wanting to experiment with Unix as an alternative to Windows, OS X is the most successful Unix implementation ever. You just gotta buy Apple hardware. If you want to use PC hardware, Ubuntu is a good bet, but nowhere near as friendly as OS X. (And before anyone starts, Apple hardware is not more expensive than PC hardware if you talk equivalent power and capabilities -- especially if you compare with Dells).
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Hey Bear,
What about software?
The last time I ventured into MAC Land, I had to replace all my software and it was a lot more expensive and with less choices than PC software. Has that changed at all? I have a ton of PC software I'd hate to lose! :'(
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Pate, I have a ton of software that handles well on my machine. The few I couldn't find exact copies of the Windows version, I found alternatives for Macs that were as good or better. Plus, I have more shareware software then you'd believe that is actually GOOD. I mean, I don't understand why these Mac developers put out all this free kick ass software but I'm not complaining. The only thing that is lagging big time are games. Everytime I wanna play games on my Mac like Half Life 2, or Battlefield 2 or the like, I have to restart it into Windows XP, but other then that, there is no programs functionality that I've had to give up since switching. Do you have a bunch of Windows only software Pate?
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Yeah, everything I have is Windows based. I let all my MAC software go with the MAC I had 8 years ago when I switched back to Windows.
I can see that my old desktop isn't long for this world and I'm going to have to get a new machine.
One thing that really bugs me is thanks to Bill Gates, >:( I have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of firewall, Anti Spam, Anti Trojan, Anti Spyware and other software protection that clogs up the processor, memory and HD access etc. just to be on line and my MAC friends don't seem to have to buy any of that crap.
So it's good to know about the MAC software. Do you have to still run a special program to use Windows software on your MAC or is it part of OS X?
Sarge.
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Win XP here.
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I'm looking at Ubuntu now. It looks interesting.
So would you say that without buying new hardware, that Ubuntu is the way to go over windows?
Is there an option to make an existing system dual boot?
If this isn't the place to continue this conversation, please feel free to shoot me an email as I'm really interested is making the switch.
mindfungus@yahoo.com
mindfungus
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I'm looking at Ubuntu now. It looks interesting.
So would you say that without buying new hardware, that Ubuntu is the way to go over windows?
Is there an option to make an existing system dual boot?
If this isn't the place to continue this conversation, please feel free to shoot me an email as I'm really interested is making the switch.
mindfungus@yahoo.com
mindfungus
Yeah, you can set up dual boot very easily with Ubuntu. It's always good to have Windows on your drive FIRST, though, because if you put it on after Ubuntu it hijacks everything. Since you already have WinXP on your system now, it should be a breeze. It can take a portion of your XP drive and cut if off for Ubuntu, leaving all your files intact. You should be aware though, it CAN cause your Windows partition not to boot, because of corrupted files, although I've never seen it happen and I've done it SEVERAL time.
If you need anymore help, post it here or feel free to shoot me a PM.
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One thing that really bugs me is thanks to Bill Gates, >:( I have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of firewall, Anti Spam, Anti Trojan, Anti Spyware and other software protection that clogs up the processor, memory and HD access etc. just to be on line and my MAC friends don't seem to have to buy any of that crap.
Ha. I don't really think it's Bill's fault. He's just a ridiculously intelligent man who knows how to make good money. Blame Microsoft's programmers. I can definently say I don't miss all that stuff though. I love not wasting processor cycles on an anti-virus that just always ticks away in the background. Though I still have a firewall up though, but just the default one OS X has internally, and then this one called "Little Snitch" that I love since it requests permission from me before letting any program on the system call out to the internet.
So it's good to know about the MAC software. Do you have to still run a special program to use Windows software on your MAC or is it part of OS X?
Sarge.
Well, I actually have two methods of getting to XP. Number 1, I can use Boot Camp, which Apple includes for free on every Mac. But you still have to pay for the Windows XP disc from Microsoft (or Vista). Boot Camp is what I switch into whenever I game because when you do so, it's a full fledged PC. No OS X running in the background, just pure XP, so it devotes all memory, processor cycles, and GPU cycles to XP and its programs. Number 2 is called VMWare Fusion. It's an OS X program whereby one can run (assuming you have enough RAM, I have 2 GB) Windows XP (or Vista) and OS X simultaneously. The downfall with that is the two operating systems then split everything. From RAM to the amount of Core's on your processor (since I'm on a dual core Intel Core 2 Duo, XP will take one core). If your machine is nice enough, you won't notice a difference as it will run both flawlessly. But not for games. For Internet Explorer and Matlab and all the programs I use in XP, it'll run them fine with both operating systems up. The VMWare Fusion solution is like 80$ though. But, one can stay strictly with the Boot Camp solution if he doesn't wish to run both simultaneously. I just don't like restarting my Mac though because I like to leave webpages open and the like.
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Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses. I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is. I'll start it off.
I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch.
I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it? I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....
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Hey Sarge, SonOfKrypton gave great answers. The only thing I'd add is that not only is there no dearth of software for the Mac (that changed long long ago), a lot of what you need comes pre-loaded. OS X itself comes with a lot of utilities, and the iLife suite (pre-loaded on all new Macs) contains software for doing everything from ripping and playing music, editing movies, mastering and burning DVDs, to making and mixing your own music.
What can get a bit expensive is having to get Mac versions of Office or Adobe Creative Suite, if you need those. Generally you can find inexpensive, or even freeware, alternatives.
You save on anti-virus and the like. Not needed. You also save your psyche and a lot of time that you don't have to spend dicking with the OS.
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Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses. I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is. I'll start it off.
I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch.
I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it? I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....
Man, it's TOTALLY worth it. Never crashes. I don't use antivirus, no need. No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free! Like I said, after getting used to Linux you'll realize how bad Windows really is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am in no way a Microsoft hater, I just prefer Linux MUCH more.
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No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free!
It's good to see you Linux heads never have to restart either. These days, having restarting my Mac (if Apple pushes out a big software update or whatever) just pisses me off. I like never having to shutdown.
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Cam and I are really on the same page here, whenever I go to post about linux he says it first :-)
I also never have to reboot. I just checked my power history graph and it says I've had ubuntu running for over 12 days (294 hours). If I think back, that means that I haven't rebooted it since I was out of town for a couple of days.
If games aren't a concern then there is nothing to stop the switch to linux. Hardware support has come so far in the past 3 years since I started using linux, and now I rarely find hardware without drivers. There is also a great community that supports linux. I know that Ubuntu's forums are full of information and I usually get my questions answered just by reading other's posts.
When I need to run software that only works with windows, I use VMware server, which of course, is free. I can't think of the last time I booted it at home, but I run it at work to use some windows-only software. For games, dual booting is a good option. I know that's why I keep my XP partition around on my desktop.
The best thing I can say for people who are thinking about trying linux out is the same thing that everyone says to people who are on the fence about shaving their heads--just do it. If you don't like it and are testing out a live cd then you can just eject the cd and boot up as usual, just like letting your hair grow back out after shaving. But you might like what you find and stick with it. Feel free to contact me if you do want to try it out and need help.
-Tom
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IM with Paulie on this one...smoke signals....im am sooo computer illiterate its not even funny, my kids know how to run this thing better than I do. I on windows XP.
Timmmayy!
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I've worked with many different flavors of unix over the years (SCO, System V, AIX, Solaris, and more), but am sticking with Windows (XP, Vista, Server 2003) at this point. Mostly because I make my living developing software with Microsoft technologies, like Visual Studio.Net, C#.net, asp.net, and C++.net.
It's not that I dislike unix, but just that the demand is so high for Microsoft technologies right now.
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You guys are way out there. :D I had all I could do to spell qwerty and you guys want to try different operating systems?! Isn't that like blasphemy?! !*!rat3 Hey, if the Gates gestapos come by here, I don't know you guys! ;) (https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi260.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fii11%2FSlyDATBoy%2FSly1-1.jpg&hash=9d103dd734ccbb3fa80a707d815b0468fe612b58)
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I am with bootedbear on this. Once you go MAC, you never go back. I have had a MAC laptop for over a year and I haven't even had one problem with it. I play Warcraft fine on it (actually, it plays better than my Dell did) and I haven't even had a single virus (I may have had a virus, but it never affected anything).
Some might think the OS is a little difficult to use, but once you get the basics down and understand what everything is, it's a lot easier, in my opinion, than a Windows.
As for some of the software, obviously Office and other things like that are expensive, but since MACs are generally cheaper than Microsoft computers, it pretty much evens the price. Being a college student, I need to have Powerpoint and Word, but I found a way to get them for free (I can't exactly tell my sources, because they may be a bit "shady").
The greatest thing about MACs: NO MORE ERROR MESSAGES!
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Right now I'm playing with OpenSUSE, Kubuntu, and Ubuntu. Been checking each out on the laptop.
Ended up fubar'ing my laptop trying to get it to dual boot. So now I'm just testing out the various versions of Lunix distribution. I'm really impressed how much software is included with the various OS's and how well the auto detection of hardware is.
mindfungus
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I am with bootedbear on this. Once you go MAC, you never go back. I have had a MAC laptop for over a year and I haven't even had one problem with it. I play Warcraft fine on it (actually, it plays better than my Dell did) and I haven't even had a single virus (I may have had a virus, but it never affected anything).
Some might think the OS is a little difficult to use, but once you get the basics down and understand what everything is, it's a lot easier, in my opinion, than a Windows.
As for some of the software, obviously Office and other things like that are expensive, but since MACs are generally cheaper than Microsoft computers, it pretty much evens the price. Being a college student, I need to have Powerpoint and Word, but I found a way to get them for free (I can't exactly tell my sources, because they may be a bit "shady").
The greatest thing about MACs: NO MORE ERROR MESSAGES!
I don't know why this is so, but I'm just gonna come out and say it. People on the internet who talk about Apple computers as "MACS" just really piss me off. I don't know why. I think I'm just obsessive compulsive or something. Nothing against you Cory, but I figured I'd correct one person at a time. "Macs" is not an acronym. It is a contraction of "Macintosh". So it doesn't need to be capitalized. You're not guilty of this one, but another thing people say that pisses me off is when they replace "Apple" with "Mac" and say sh*t like "If Mac would just make their computers cheaper I'd get one" or some sh*t. Just generally talking about the company Apple but referring to it as a machine.
And thirdly, Cory, if you look into this, you're gonna love me man. Put Powerpoint away and look into Apple's "Keynote" software. Check out a tour of its capabilities at http://www.apple.com/iwork/keynote/ . It's part of the "iWork" package which consists of Keynote, Numbers (an Excel competitor, I have no experience with it though, I stick with Excel), and Pages (A word competitor, I have no experience with it though, I stick with Word). But Keynote just DESTROYS Powerpoint dude. It's terrible. In my Biomechanical Engineering class, my group let me be in charge of the presentation at the end of the semester, and using my Macbook Pro and Keynote, our group won the 500$ second place price (if you're curious, 1st place won because their invention was better), and I solely credit Keynote. After seeing bland Powerpoint after bland Powerpoint, our Keynote presentation made the entire class take notice. Look into this dude, get the most recent one, and if you're interested in the "free .99" price, get at me and I'll hook you up with some information.
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Some might think the OS is a little difficult to use, but once you get the basics down and understand what everything is, it's a lot easier, in my opinion, than a Windows.
Oh yea, and I totally agree with this. The first thing I did when I bought my MBP in Nov of 06 was put Windows XP on it because I wanted something to fall back on if I couldn't understand OS X. But within 2 hours of doing nothing but just fuckin with OS X, everything clicked. It really was amazing. I never had to fall back on my plan of sticking with Windows, I'll tell ya that.
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Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses. I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is. I'll start it off.
I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch.
I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it? I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....
Man, it's TOTALLY worth it. Never crashes. I don't use antivirus, no need. No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free! Like I said, after getting used to Linux you'll realize how bad Windows really is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am in no way a Microsoft hater, I just prefer Linux MUCH more.
Just download and install it is it that simple????
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I have Windows XP on the laptop and had Windows 98 that ran on the PC.I Dont use the PC(Piece of Crap) anymore.
My best friend just got a MacBookPro and I was using their Mac OS and getting used to it. Must say, it is pretty awesome. Last time I had dealing with MAC OS was 99-00 and it was a nightmare, I said to myself there is no way in hell that I will ever consider using a Mac but I am starting to see why so many people are into it.
I hear that Firefox is the default Web browser on Ubuntu, I can see why. I've been using Firefox for almost a year and it shits on IE.
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Windows Vista Home Premium. No problems.
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Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses. I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is. I'll start it off.
I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch.
I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it? I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....
Man, it's TOTALLY worth it. Never crashes. I don't use antivirus, no need. No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free! Like I said, after getting used to Linux you'll realize how bad Windows really is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am in no way a Microsoft hater, I just prefer Linux MUCH more.
Just download and install it is it that simple????
Well, not entirely that simple. There will be a few quirks here and there to get certain things (like MP3 playback, for example) to work. Other than that, it's pretty much straight out of the box good to go for the average computer user.
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And thirdly, Cory, if you look into this, you're gonna love me man. Put Keynote away and look into Apple's "Keynote" software. Check out a tour of its capabilities at http://www.apple.com/iwork/keynote/ . It's part of the "iWork" package which consists of Keynote, Numbers (an Excel competitor, I have no experience with it though, I stick with Excel), and Pages (A word competitor, I have no experience with it though, I stick with Word). But Keynote just DESTROYS Powerpoint dude. It's terrible. In my Biomechanical Engineering class, my group let me be in charge of the presentation at the end of the semester, and using my Macbook Pro and Keynote, our group won the 500$ second place price (if you're curious, 1st place won because their invention was better), and I solely credit Keynote. After seeing bland Powerpoint after bland Powerpoint, our Keynote presentation made the entire class take notice. Look into this dude, get the most recent one, and if you're interested in the "free .99" price, get at me and I'll hook you up with some information.
I can't use anything other than Word and PPT at the moment, since I am a college student. Most of the computers on campus have Windows, and the ones that do have Apples use Office, so when I turn in papers and give projects to the class, I have to use something that is applicable.